


On and Off the Court

by ptw30



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akashi and Kuroko as bros, Drabbles, Ficlets, Gen, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-13
Updated: 2017-06-10
Packaged: 2018-03-17 17:18:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 26
Words: 16,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3537653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ptw30/pseuds/ptw30
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seems like all the cool kids are doing it...a bunch of drabbles about Kuroko and a harem of basketball dorks.<br/>Current pairings include: KagaKuro, MidoTaka, AkaKuro, AoKuro, MuraKuro, MidoKuro, and HanaKuro. Also, a few stories about Kuroko and Akashi as bros...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Indirect Kiss

Kuroko has a cherished water bottle, and he finally lets Kagami drink from it. 

Kuroko treasured his water bottle. Kagami guessed it had to be one ofthose freaky sports’ routines like Midorima had, where Kuroko could only drink out of  _that_ specific water bottle, because it came with them to every game, every practice, every street ball tournament. Kuroko washed it out with attentive care bordering on worship, and when he stayed over Kagami’s apartment on certain nights, every morning Kagami would flip on the light to the kitchen to find it there, upside down and clean from the previous day’s activities. Never did Kuroko neglect it.

So extreme pride flooded Kagami during a street ball tournament after they finished a set of Seirin versus the Generation of Miracles, and Kuroko threw the bottle at him. Maybe he, too, would gain extra strength, so they would only lose the next game by double digits.

The water tasted no different than usual, though the ice inside made for a cool, rejuvenating elixir. Still, he didn’t see why Kuroko used  _this_  water bottle all the time.

“Hey, Tetsu!” Aomine called. “You still have my water bottle from the onsen, huh?”

Kagami’s spit-take sent water across the entire length of the court.

Izuki was at Kagami’s side in a moment, slapping him on the back. “An indirect kiss between you, Aomine, and Kuroko, huh? Was it a…wet one?”

No one held Kagami back.  


	2. Kagami's Game Kink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the second episode of the anime, Kagami says a good game really gets him going, so here’s where my brain went, of course.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For KagaKuro White Day on Tumblr

Tight games got Kagami going, and since most of Seirin’s games were close calls, Kuroko bore the brunt of Kagami’s…excitement. It happened the first time after a Kaijo game. Kagami edged Kuroko into the bathroom as the team headed back to the locker room, pushed him against the stall wall, and proceeded to release all his excess energy. 

The embrace didn’t last long—the game had been exhausting—but Kuroko stumbled from the bathroom, breathless. 

Kagami had to all but carry Kuroko after the Yosen game—not from the court but from the showers off the locker room. By the round of “good games” and “you gave it your all,” Kuroko pretended the team didn’t know how…excited Kagami got from playing.

But Kuroko put his foot down during summer camp the following year. He stayed in Izuki’s room. Since Tōō was at the same camp, Kagami wouldn’t be sleeping a wink and go looking for other ways to stop his boredom. Unlike Kagami, Kuroko needed his rest.

But Kuroko didn’t mind Kagami’s game kink. He might be tired after games, but he enjoyed the absolute pleasure on Kagami’s face after a hard-fought win and the attentive caresses that always felt so good. 

Sometimes, though, he had to take one for the team, which was the case after a Seirin versus Shutoku game. Kagami absolutely sucked during the third quarter, allowing Midorima by him four times and not making a single point. Kuroko tugged him down by the front of his jersey and whispered something in Kagami’s ear that turned his partner’s flushed face purple.

Kuroko walked away with a very deliberate stride, took a long swig of his water, and then headed back out to play defense.

Kagami didn’t let Midorima score once in the fourth quarter, and he netted another fifteen points by the end of the game.

Kagami carried Kuroko home on his back.

Then, Kagami couldn’t control his excitement during a Tōō game. The first quarter was as intense as any, a stream of mini battles during a bitter war. Kuroko wasn’t even sure how he kept from passing out with the heavy heaves he sucked in through his open mouth, but Kagami needed him. Seirin needed him, and at the very last moment, he deflected the perfect pass that sent Kagami slamming the ball pass Aomine.

The buzzer blared throughout the arena, signaling the end of the first quarter, and Kagami was aglow. Aomine even hmph’ed, impressed, and called out, “Hey, Tetsu! Stop doing all this idiot’s—”

Whatever he said after that was lost to Kuroko as Kagami strode over, fisted his hand in the front of Kuroko’s jersey, and jerked him upward until their lips met.

Kuroko was always aware of his surroundings due his misdirection, so his eyes flew wide, knowing what was happening, knowing that the world was watching what usually was an intimate moment between him and his light after the game.

But tight games got Kagami going, and Tōō games were the tightest. 

So Kuroko gave into Kagami, wrapping his arms around his partner’s neck like usual and delve into the uncontrollably heat. Then, as Kagami’s eyes slowly drifted open, the world came crashing down on them with startling silence, panic racing through Kagami’s gaze.

Kuroko expected the quick parting, but the damage was already done, though the bloodshed was just starting. Aomine stomped forward, ready to dish out what he would deem to be “protecting Kuroko’s honor.” but Hyuuga beat him to it, kicking Kagami to the ground.

“You bakagami! If you’re going to do something so distracting, do it during the quarter, not after!”

The ref blew his whistle. A few snide comments fluttered across the court, but nothing Aomine’s terrifying gaze couldn’t stop.

Riko kicked Kagami’s ass, scolded Kuroko for not slapping him across the face, and the game progressed.

Seirin won by two points. This time, as they ambled down the hallway, Kuroko pushed Kagami into the bathroom, but he needed help carrying him out.


	3. “How Kuroko Became a Kleptomaniac”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko takes things without asking; Akashi isn't pleased.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akashi and Kuroko are bros...and they fight like them...kinda.

The fight had been fierce for them, though most other people might not know it, but Seijuro was still fuming. He laid stomach-down on his bed, twiddling away at his chemistry homework, and staring at the basketball shoes thrown carelessly in the corner. They were the only items out of the place in the entire room, but he couldn’t bring himself to move them, despite their annoyance. 

Tetsuya had borrowed his sneakers without asking and not just any shoes but his favorite pair. Only a year apart, he and his brother were exact same size—plus one inch and some muscle for Seijuro—and seemingly, that gave Tetsuya carte blanche to raid Seijuro’s room for whatever he wanted. 

Seijuro noticed his sneakers were missing before he headed out to meet Aomine and Midorima, only to find them on Tetsuya’s feet as he left his room. His younger brother professed his innocence, that they were his shoes—they did wear the same brand and size after all—but Seijuro knew better when he saw the scuff mark he’d gotten at practice two weeks prior. It never occurred to him that he and Tetsuya might move the same way, so his brother scuffed his shoes in a similar fashion. 

Words flung; feelings hurt, especially after Seijuro realized Tetsuya had “absolutely stolen” his jacket and shirt, too, though that, his brother didn’t deny. In the most severe act Seijuro had ever seen his brother do, he pulled off the sneakers and flung them into Seijuro’s room, storming away as he tugged out his phone, probably to complain to that oaf, Kagami Taiga. 

Of course, Seijuro found his shoes three minutes later in the gym bag the maid was supposed to unpack from Rakuzan. 

Apologies weren’t exactly his forte, and when he knocked on Tetsuya’s door, his brother had the audacity to mutter, “I _absolutely_ do not want to speak to Nii-san.”

Which did not help his mood one bit. He was wrong about his shoes, and…they were just sneakers, Tetsuya had told him time and time again during the fight. Just sneakers, so what it did matter? They could go get a new pair that day if Seijuro wanted. 

And, of course, Seijuro didn’t believe his little brother who never lied about anything his life, who never had the heart to tell a non-truth. 

And so here Seijuro sighed, failing miserably at finishing his homework, absolutely mad at himself, when a tiny whine sounded from the ajar door. 

The mutt. 

His tiny body slipped through the small slither between the door and the wall, those so similar eyes condemning him as well. 

“Leave,” he ordered, but it had so little venom in it. He was just tired, frustrated, but not at Tetsuya’s mixed breed. 

Of course, that changed when the little mutt strutted into the room like he owned it, and his soft, almost-cute whine shifted into a menacing growl. Then, he promptly lifted a leg and proceeded to destroy the antique rug Akashi’s grandfather brought more than fifty years earlier. 

“You little—TETSUYA!”

It took a few moments, but Tetsuya appeared in the doorway, carrying an overstuffed box. Even in his socked feet, he managed to miss the mutt’s rebellion. 

“Here are all Nii-san’s belongings I’ve borrowed the last year.” Why did he sound like Seijuro had just run over said mutt?

Seijuro glanced at the box, and the first two items he noticed on top were the jacket and shirt Tetsuya wore earlier. His brother now sported a two-sized too large shirt. Probably Kagami’s. 

“You stole all these things?” His brother had become a kleptomaniac since he moved to Kyoto. 

Tetsuya’s shoulders dipped, and he clapped his hands in front of his shirt to bow. “Nii-san only started coming home recently. It wasn’t like you missed any of these in Kyoto.”

It was true. He’d made trips here and there to see one of Tetsuya’s games without telling him, but he hadn’t stepped foot in their father’s condo in the year prior to the Winter Cup. Even now, he only came to Tokyo a few times a month and only to see Tetsuya and their friends. 

Tetsuya didn’t wait for a reply. He simply scooped up the mutt—Seijuro swore he heard a, “Good boy”—and stomped from the room. 

He sighed, then followed out into the hallway. “Tetsuya.”

His brother paused right before his bedroom and turned halfway around, as if awaiting a verbal slashing. 

Seijuro clasped his fists at his sides and bowed. “I’m sorry.”

He wasn’t sure for what, exactly. For the sneakers. For the fight. For the last year, away from home. For the tragic events of Teiko. 

Tetsuya blinked in shock, his mouth only a hair’s breath open. Then, after the surprise faded, Tetsuya’s face brightened, and understanding, forgiveness, and of course, brotherly love, shimmered in his wide eyes. 

He nodded once to his brother and disappeared into his bedroom with the mutt in his hands. “I am not cleaning up Nii-san’s mess.”

“Ugh! Tetsuya.” He gave chase. “He’s your mutt.”

“He is not a mutt.”

“You don’t know what type of dog he is.”

“He’s _my_ dog.”

“Who needs to know who his master is.”

“I am not absolute.”

“Tetsuya!” 

The End


	4. Small Miracles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi takes Kuroko away every other weekend for “skills training,” leaving Kagami and Aomine alone for one-on-ones and burgers. So of course, they talk about their favorite shadow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m trying to write a drabble a day, but somehow, these stories keep coming out longer than 100 words!

“Don’t give me that look,” Aomine snorted and took a sip of his drink. “I’m not going to sugar-coat it just ‘cause he’s your brother or whatever. Himuro is just a normal guy with some skills, but that’s all he is. Normal. He’s not one of _us_.”

“You’re a pretty conceited bastard,” Kagami muttered through his burger.

“Fine. Don’t listen to me. Our next game will prove it. He won’t be able to reach the Zone to take me on. If he’s lucky, he’ll see me as I pass him.”

Kagami snorted. Ever since Kuroko started meeting up with Akashi every other weekend—“skills training,” Akashi called it—Kagami was left with Aomine for one-on-one competitions and burgers. He refused to acknowledge what was really happening—Akashi was shaping Kuroko into something—a small forward, a shooting guard, a point guard? And Aomine was strengthening Kagami’s game. But for what?

Akashi always had a plan and was five steps ahead of Kuroko and ten steps ahead of Kagami, and Aomine’d somehow got roped into becoming Kagami’s basketball tutor, ignorant to Akashi’s grand scheme. 

“I’m just saying that some of us have talent that others don’t, no matter how hard they try.”

“And does your great and wise theory apply to Kuroko, too?”

Aomine seemed taken back, stopping in half-bite of his seventh burger, and then shrugged. “Tetsu’s different.”

“How so? He can dribble but nothing extraordinary. He can’t even score a lay-up with pressure on him. His shot is incredibly awkward—”

“He’s a freakin’ mutant. The theory doesn’t apply to him.”

“You’re just making excuses,” Kagami pressured. “Admit it, Ahomine. You just don’t like Himuro.”

Aomine scowled and banished his burger to the plate, so he could glare directly at Kagami. “Yeah, he could use an attitude adjustment and maybe a face adjustment, but Tetsu is like puppies and rainbows and vanilla milkshakes and the hopes and dreams of every basketball player shoved into one tiny body.” He picked up an eighth burger—this one off Kagami’s plate, much to Kagami’s sputtered protest. “You know, the five of us were called the Generation of Miracles, but there were always six Miracles. Tetsu is one of us, even if his power is different than ours. It’s just… our light eventually overtook his shadow.”

“No. It tried and failed,” Kagami replied with no attempt to hide his contempt.

Aomine ducked his head, remorseful before sighing. “Well, I’m glad for _small_ miracles; that’s for sure.”

Kagami silently agreed but stole back his burger. 

The End


	5. Future Line

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi takes Kuroko again for “skills training.” Aomine and Kagami investigate…cuz apparently, they have no lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Akashi/Kuroko as bros; Kagakuro

It was wrong to go into “cahoots” with Aomine, but Kagami was too stupid to know any better. So he found himself on a three-hour train ride to Kyoto on Saturday afternoon. “Skills training,” Kuroko had told him. Skills training with Akashi, the captain of the Generation of Miracles. 

Well, excuse Kagami for being curious, because that was what all he was. He wasn’t jealous of Akashi for taking Kuroko away every other weekend, even though Akashi had been an asshat to his little brother for more than a year and even chose a school far away from Kuroko. 

“Akashi didn’t choose Razukan,” Aomine muttered as if he could hear Kagami’s thoughts. “Their father chose it.”

“So why didn’t he force Kuroko to go, too?”

Aomine rolled his eyes and heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Stupid returnee. Kuroko is the _second_ son. He won’t inherit their father’s empire, so the expectations for him are drastically lower.” The anger dispelled, and Aomine rubbed the back of his neck. “And to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how often Akashi-san remembers he has two sons.”

“But Kuroko lives with his father.”

“Does he? I saw his stuff at your apartment.”

Kagami snorted. “That’s just some clothes he left behind and his basketball and his school books…”

Shit. Were they living together? When did _that_ happen?

Okay, that was cool, and maybe he and Aomine were on a train to Razukan because he made an off-handed comment that he’d miss Kuroko at dinner, but still Kagami was curious. Just curious. What the hell was skills training?

But Aomine seemed to be amused, taking out his cell phone when they reached the school. 

“What’s that for?”

Aomine shrugged. “You’ll see.”

“You know what they’ve been doing? Why the hell didn’t you tell me three hours ago!”

“Shut up, Bakagami. This is something that you need to see for yourself.” 

Hayama came to let them in, though he made them swear never, ever to tell Akashi, but then he proceeded to lead them to Akashi’s dorm room before sneaking off. Of course, the emperor had a single room instead of a double, and it was as opulent as Kagami thought it would be with a fireplace, hardwood walls, and even a violin case laying on his ornate desk. 

There were only two things out of place in the entire room—a pile of dirty clothes near the closet, sweaty and abandoned after what guessed had been a rigorous workout session, and Kuroko, stretched out on Akashi’s bed, using a book as a pillow. Akashi, in turn, used Kuroko as a pillow, the two intertwined like sleeping puppies huddling for warmth. 

And Kagami took out his phone, too. They were so…cute. There was no other word for it. 

Aomine had already snapped a photo and was posting it to Facebook. “They used to do this all the time after games when we were at Teikou. Satsuki has about a million pictures of them like this.”

“Can she post a few for me to see?”

“I’ll ask her.”

Okay, so yeah, maybe the picture Kagami now as his iPhone wallpaper was worth the three-hour train ride to Kyoto, but still, it didn’t solve the great mystery of what skills training was. 

“Hey, hey, Bakagami…” Aomine hissed. “Get back here. You don’t want the wrath of Akashi!”

But Kagami already inched into the room and toward the bed. As he neared, Akashi muttered something and shifted, as if pulling Kuroko closer, and the simple action allowed Kagami to read Kuroko’s “pillow.”

It was a book about the best NCAA schools. In fact, Kagami now saw on the other side of Akashi were various notebooks filled with scribbled writing and books about American colleges and basketball. 

Kuroko was moving to the U.S.?

A hand seized Kagami’s elbow, and he would have screamed if Aomine hadn’t slapped a hand over his mouth. The shock allowed Aomine to drag him from the room, but the second the door shut, Kagami howled, “What the hell, Ahomine!”

“Come on. You saw what you needed. Let’s head.” He already stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned around. 

Kagami took one more glance at the door, wanting to be Akashi in that scenario, before abandoning the thought of waking the emperor and following after Aomine. 

“So what the hell is this about?”

Aomine shrugged again, and Kagami just wanted to beat him up. “Look, Tetsu isn’t stupid. He knows you’ll be heading back to the States once high school is over, and if you guys are still together, then…y’know, he wants to go, too. But he won’t be good enough for basketball overseas unless he levels up, so Akashi’s been helping him to improve and find schools near your choices.”

“I might not go back to the States. Just because my dad and his work are—”

“I’m going, Taiga.”

Kagami stopped short. “What!”

Aomine’s hands fidgeted in his pockets. “C’mon. Don’t be stupid. That’s where the best basketball in the world is played. I’ve even heard from a few scouts, and I know you have, too. Tetsu told me, so stop being an idiot. You’re going back, and he wants to go with you. So pick the school and tell him, so he knows where to look.”

They sat in separate two-seaters on the way home, their legs up and crossed. When they noticed each other sitting in the exact same position, they sent a growl and shifted. 

Kagami waited until Kuroko came home the next day and pulled out a letter he’d received. When Kuroko looked up at him, questioning, Kagami handed him a vanilla milkshake and drew him into a gentle embrace. “UCLA. Alex went there, and she’s already spoke to the coaches.”

Understanding widened in Kuroko’s suddenly shimmering eyes, and then he looked down and away, sipping his milkshake. “Thank you, Kagami-kun.”

Kagami just palmed his head and kept him close the rest of the night. 

*^*^*  
Aomine opened his Facebook app to find Akashi had replied to the picture of him and Kuroko, tagging Midorima. “Shintaro, may I borrow your red scissors again? I must cut Daiki down to size.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was supposed to be drabble. Apparently, I am incapable of writing only 100 words. *facepalm*


	6. How Kuroko Won a Game of Shogi against Akashi

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For AkaKuro Week 2015: In college, Kuroko finally learns how to think/play like Akashi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Doesn’t really fit a prompt. :(

“Don’t do it,” Kagami warned. 

“I’ll be back before the coaches get up tomorrow,” Kuroko assured, one foot out the hotel window already. 

“Dude, that’s not what I’m talking about, and you know it.” Kagami sighed against the headboard of his bed, numerous books around him for studying. “He does it every time before our games, just to screw with you and your play, and he’s going to do it again.”

“Kagami-kun.” Kuroko’s furious blue eyes were frighteningly clear. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course, but he’s going to do it again. It’s his sick way of starting to play even before we step on the court, and you’re going to suck tomorrow and we’re going to lose—again. I’m tired of it.”

“Me, too, but we only get to see each other a few times a season with our schedules.”

“I know. I know.” The red-haired bastard could have chosen any college, but he had picked one not only in driving distance but also in the same conference as UCLA. “Fine, get out of here. I’ll cover for you if you’re late—again.”

“Thank you, Kagami-kun.”

Of course, Kagami didn’t really need to cover for Kuroko because only he and Himuro ever noticed if their first-string point guard was missing, but he would if need be. And of course, Kuroko was late. Kagami received a text just before the bus was to depart, saying Kuroko would meet up with the team at the arena. He joined Kagami’s side right before they were to exit the tunnel of the Maples Pavilion, and Kagami snorted. 

“He did it again, didn’t he? And you let him.”

“You said you trusted me, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko said with a put-on pout. 

“I do, but you let him.” There was simple fact in his voice. 

But there was mischief in Kuroko’s eyes, and as they took to the court in a blaze of boos from the Stamford fans, Kuroko ran with an extra jump in his step and an exuberant smile that nothing could dampen. 

What the—

Kagami choked on his water when he saw Akashi on the other side of the court, nursing a very noticeable limp. 

The End


	7. If At First You Don't Succeed...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko and Akashi explore the boundaries of their new relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Akakuroweek2015  
> Prompt: Awkwardness  
> Special thanks to Eprime for catching my Rakuzan error!

Kuroko was being difficult—or as difficult as he ever got. Akashi doubted any other members of Rakuzan noticed, but Kuroko’s teeth nibbled along his bottom lip, drawing it into his mouth just so. When asked his preferences for dinner, Kuroko was polite as always, though offered little to the conversation. 

And Akashi was exasperated—or as exasperated as he ever got. 

He wanted Kuroko to like his Rakuzan team. They were spending more and more time together, and every other weekend, either Akashi took the train to Tokyo to meet up with Kuroko and Seirin or Kuroko took the train to Kyoto to meet up with Rakuzan. He even slept in Akashi’s dorm, and on Saturday, they always ended up ordering dinner and either studying or—thanks to Hayama—playing manhunt in the woods. Or breaking into the pool for an impromptu swim. Or toilet-papering the Dean’s residence. 

In any case, he and Kuroko were becoming…something, and if they were going to continue being that…something, then Kuroko would need to get along with Rakuzan like he got along with Seirin. 

Or at least as he tried to get along with Seirin. Was it his fault that Izuki didn’t master the art of the pun as well as Akashi?

Reo leaned against Akashi’s bed, dropping the take-out menu to his lap. “Sei-chan, will you get your boyfriend to pick something more than a milkshake? He’s going to need energy if we’re going to sneak into the girl dorms and leave Seirin’s phone numbers all over their bathroom stalls.”

How did he ever let the team talk him into these childish pranks?

Hayama threw an arm about Akashi’s shoulders. “Come to think of it, doesn’t he just need to eat? How does he keep up with you, Captain?”

An infinitesimal look of disdain crossed Kuroko’s face, and he excused himself to the dorm bathroom. Akashi followed a moment later, ignoring the little voice inside of him that said he was an obedient puppy on a leash. After all, Kuroko looked genuinely surprised to see him when exiting the stall. 

“Akashi-kun?” 

Akashi leaned against the opposite shower, hands stuffed in his hoodie’s pockets. “I attempt to like your friends. I would appreciate it if you could do the same with mine.”

As he washed his hands, Kuroko gazed back, genuine surprise upon his features. “I enjoy the company of Rakuzan’s team. Have I shown otherwise?”

“You snubbed Hayama and have hardly spoken a full sentence since you arrived this morning. I understand that you are not as comfortable with my friends as—”

“You are more comfortable with Rakuzan.”

It sounded like an accusation. “Than with Seirin? Well, that is to be expected.”

“No.” Kuroko turned then, pain written on his usually passive expression. “You joke with them. You are familiar with them. Mibuchi-kun calls you ‘Sei-chan,’ and Hayama-kun hangs off of you. Nebuya-kun eats off your plate. You were never this casual at Teiko. You’re never this casual—”

Kuroko stopped, bottom lip worried again, but Akashi hears the silent _with me_. 

The silence was unusually offensive, especially for someone who usually didn’t mind it, but Kuroko looked so distraught, his eyes equally crestfallen and frustrated. 

And suddenly, Akashi was frustrated, too. Out of all of his friends, Kuroko was perhaps his closest, even over Midorima and Reo, and yet, if memory served accurate, Akashi had treated him like the farthest. 

So he sighed, shoulders slumping, and stepped forward, brushing his knuckles against the pale pink of Kuroko’s cheeks. 

“This…distance from Tokyo has been good. My father…” He stopped short, and Kuroko seized his hand, as if to lend him the strength to continue. “My father has never been kind, and here I can breathe. He isn’t over me, pressuring me to always succeed. And I don’t have to, not anymore.” He smiled, and then, he realized, Kuroko was smiling, too. “Except with you. Would you like me to call you ‘Testuya’ again?”

Kuroko made a face. Apparently, the memories of their year apart still bothered him. “Kagami-kun and Aomine-kun call me ‘Tetsu.’”

“Tetsu,” Akashi breathed, as if saying a gentle prayer. 

And then Tetsu was in his personal space, wrapping his arms around Akashi’s neck. Cheeks a furious crimson, Tetsu pressed his forehead against Akashi’s, and he swore his boyfriend forced the word from his mouth, “S-Sei.”

It was absolutely adorable how uncomfortable and yet how pleased Tetsu looked as the foundation of their new relationship became that much firmer. Pushing the boundaries, seeing what works and what doesn’t—this might be a small step but a good one nonetheless, and Akashi felt closer to Tetsu in that moment than he ever did before. 

He sealed their new intimacy with an intense kiss. 

When they returned to the room a few minutes later, Kuroko’s hair in a state of utter disarray, Akashi ushered his boyfriend down next to him and ordered, “Everyone, Kuroko would like to be called Tetsu.”

A blanket of white covered Kuroko’s once flushed face, and with a bow and an uttered apology, he fled from the room. 

Reo clasped Akashi on the shoulder and shook his head. “Sei-chan, you are so not getting lucky tonight.”

Akashi sighed and excused himself to follow his boyfriend into the bathroom once more. He found himself remembering an old adage he never really understood until now. 

_If at first you don’t succeed…_

The End


	8. Father Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Akashi-san stops by Kuroko and Seijuro’s condo with his lawyer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Akakuro Week 2015  
> Pairing: Akakuro   
> Prompt: Domesticity (A day late!)

Tetsuya wasn’t sure what he was going to do with his Saturday, but Seijuro’s father was not part of his plans by any scope of the imagination. In fact, he never factored in Seijuro’s father because he was under the general assumption that the man ignored his son just as much as he condemned Seijuro, and by association, that included Tetsuya. 

So he blinked and let out a tiny gasp when he opened the door on Saturday morning to find Seijuro’s father waiting on the opposite side, flanked by a prissy woman and an equally stringent man. Of course, all three wore suits made to intimidate, though Kuroko wouldn’t let it show just how much they succeeded. 

“Akashi-san,” he greeted with a short bow. “I was not aware you were coming.”

“We have much to discuss, Tetsuya,” was the all warning Kuroko received before Akashi-san pushed his way into the upscale condo in downtown Shinjuku. 

The place was small by “Akashi” standards but elegant, fitting for a prince of wealth and prestige, and Kuroko was mainly a boarder, though Seijuro had done everything to make him feel otherwise. But it was times like these, in the presence of Akashi-san’s commanding demeanor, that Kuroko knew his and Seijuro’s relationship lived on borrowed time. There was no doubt that Seijuro’s father would put an end to it eventually, despite Seijuro’s own infallible will, but a small, insignificant part of Kuroko always held out hope…until this moment.

The determination, the callous reprimand upon Akashi-san’s face slashed Kuroko deeper than any blade, and he recoiled to the living room, where Seijuro currently sat on the floor, texts and notebooks from his master’s program scattered about him. 

“Akashi-kun, your father is here,” he announced, but the simple use of honorifics whipped Seijuro’s head about. He was on his feet in a second, face blank, but Kuroko had seen the momentary look of surprise. 

“Father, what are you doing here?”

“I came discuss this living arrangement of yours.”

Kuroko kept firm despite the crippling ache in his chest, and he clutched his hands into tight fists at his thighs. Seijuro’s eyes pored over him; he could feel their intensity, analyzing his movements or lack thereof. Never one to shy away, Kuroko raised his head to meet Seijuro’s questioning eyes and sent him a gentle smile, even though his heart was breaking. He wanted Seijuro to be happy, and no matter what Kuroko could do, he knew he could never compete with Akashi-san’s approval. 

Seijuro, however, seemed to firm his back as he met his father’s gaze. “You know how I feel about Tetsuya. No matter what you say, that won’t change.”

“Which is why I brought Kimura-san.” Akashi-san motioned to the woman to his left before unbuttoning his suit jacket and taking a seat upon the nearest chair. He crossed his legs, and despite being the shortest person in the room now, still dominated like Aomine on a basketball court. 

“I assumed you would want your relationship to be legal, so I had Kimura-san draw up the adoption documents.” As if on cue, Kimura-san unsnapped her briefcase and handed said documents to a thoroughly confused Seijuro. “Tetsuya, you may keep your last name, but I insist that the children have ‘Akashi’ as theirs, seeing as they will be the ones inheriting the company.”

Kuroko shared a brief, overwhelming glance with Seijuro, and his boyfriend seemed frightened, almost hysterical, if his sudden deep breaths and widened eyes were any indication. 

And as a reserved and disciplined member of the Akashi Family, Seijuro just didn’t do hysterical. 

Kuroko, himself, felt his heart beat wildly in his chest. Surely, Akashi-san couldn’t mean what Kuroko thought. 

Akashi-san continued, uncaring about his son and his son’s boyfriend apparently breakdowns. 

“And there will be children, Seijuro. I’ve already contacted one of our medical clinics, who will assist you and Tetsuya concerning the conceiving. At least one of the children, preferably the eldest, must be biologically yours, but if Tetsuya insists on being the biological father of one of your children, he or she will retain the Akashi name and be given equal stake in the company.”

“Father—”

“Your mother and I had a winter ceremony at our manor outside of Akita. I believe that will serve well for yours. Nakamura-san.” He urged the man, who had been frantically typing on his tablet, to bow. “Make sure to contact the steward and coordinate my schedule with the manor’s in late December, early January, preferably between Seijuro’s and Tetsuya’s birthdays.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Father—”

“Tetsuya, we must also discuss your future in the company. I expect you to fully support Seijuro with his responsibilities, so Nakamura-san will set up meetings in the coming weeks to explain your duties as my son’s partner.”

“Father—” 

“As you must understand, teaching kindergarten will take up too much of your time. Planning parties, meeting with foreign businessmen and dignitaries as needed—hm. You’ll probably need formal training as well. Nakamura-san—”

“Already added to list, sir.”

“Good. As for your condo, Seijuro, you and Tetsuya should move closer to the office—”

“FATHER!” 

Akashi-san blinked, shocked at first before belligerence enveloped his stern gaze. He stood immediately, buttoning his jacket. “Seijuro, I would recommend you do not interrupt me again.”

“I apologize, Father—” Seijuro bowed immediately. “—but I have as of yet not asked Tetsuya to marry me.”

“Oh.” The silence was so consuming that Kuroko heard the blood pumping in his ears, and he thought a hand reached inside his heart and seized it. Had Akashi-san actually approved of him all this time, and it was Seijuro who didn’t want him forever? 

Kuroko felt the onslaught of tears stinging in the corner of his eyes before Akashi-san continued, “Well, what the hell have you been waiting for?”

Yes, what indeed? Kuroko leaned forward, clinging to the edge of every moment in hopes of hearing Seijuro’s next words. 

“Members of the Akashi Household do not fail, Father,” he said softly, almost a breath of a whisper. “and I would not endeavor upon a path that would lead to such a disappointment. I wanted to solidify the foundations of my victory first.”

Kuroko should have been furious. He should have cursed Seijuro for making the simple question of their shared lifetime into something that could be won, something Seijuro could claim like he did everything in his life—through preparation, through determination, through simple fate, if Midorima was correct. 

But all he could muster was an equally soft, “I think a winter ceremony is perfect.”

The End


	9. I'm Just Here to Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko comes to Kagami and Aomine’s pro game.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Kagakuro (kinda)  
> After the NCAA championship game, Kagami entered the NBA draft, so Kuroko is still a sophomore in college. Aomine jumped right to the NBA from high school.

“Isn’t that…nah, he wouldn’t be sitting all the way back here, right?”

He just came to watch a basketball game. 

“No way. With his connections—front row for sure.”

Why couldn’t he just watch the game?

“It is him, man. He’s wearing a UCLA hoodie.”

Like how many other people in the arena?

“Hey, hey.” Someone shook his shoulder from behind. “Dude, you’re not—you’re not Tetsuya Kuroko, are you? UCLA point guard from last year’s NCAA championship team?”

He missed his lack of presence at times, and he silently thanked Akashi from saving him a lot of grief during his youth. 

Kuroko shook off the young man’s hand and turned his attention back to the court, two levels below him. “Yes,” he managed, his voice thick with a Japanese accent, even after all these years. “I’m just here to watch the game.”

The brash American leaned even closer, not seemingly caring that he wore his hood up or that he didn’t even look at him again. “Dude, you were amazing during that last game. Won me a ton of money in my fantasy league and the March Madness bracket.”

He never knew what to say to those comments other than, “You’re welcome.”

“How’s the wrist? Getting any better? Looking to make a comeback at UCLA this year or maybe join the pros?”

Kuroko hid his right hand in his jacket, the phantom pain more fierce than the real one sometimes, and he focused on the floor below. “I’m just here to watch the game.”

“Who are you routing for, man? The Knicks and Taiga Kagami, right? Gotta be your former teammate.”

“Dude! No way.” The person next to him in a Lakers’ jersey knocked him in the shoulder. “You’re all L.A., right? And you and Daiki Aomine know each other. Middle school teammates and what not.”

His personal life had been thrown up on the newsstands like entertainment, and he loathed his former coaches at UCLA for making him do that interview with Sports Illustrated. 

The fans waited impatiently for his reply, so he finally stated, “I’m just here to watch the game.”

“But come on!” The fan next to him invaded his personal space once more, shaking his shoulders rather roughly. “You must have a preference.”

Kuroko stood immediately, knocking the man’s hands from his person. “Excuse me.”

“Hey, dude! Tetsuya! Come on! Don’t be like that.” As he made his way down the row, he expectantly heard, “What a douche.”

But the damage had been done, and a low rumble began through the crowd. 

“Tetsuya Kuroko’s here!”

“Dude, you should have seen that last pass for the championship.”

“Hey, Tetsuya! Tetsu-ya! Can I have your autograph?” 

“I have you on my wall!”

“You totally rocked, man!”

“Has been! SIT DOWN!” 

“TET-SU!” Of course one fan started to chant, an embarrassing cheer he’d hated when playing college ball. “TET-SU! TET-SU!”

And try as he might, he wasn’t fast enough to clear the long row of stairs before the entire section was chanting. One fan snatched onto his hood, freeing his blue hair as the referee blew the whistle for a jump ball. Even from the platform, he could see the shocked faces of his former teammates on the court. 

Too many uneasy emotions swelled in his heart as he remembered that championship game, the sweat and dreams of their youth riding on their back. Kagami and he were freshmen, and they’d have three more years—but they wanted that championship so dearly. They worked with their seniors, their friends, to be in the Final Four, and they’d made it so far. 

So even when one Duke player knocked him down and another stepped upon his wrist, he fought through the pain, knowing even as he did so, he was ending his career. 

The team doctor confirmed it less than three weeks later. 

Kagami never forgave him. 

And when he saw the unending pain still raw in Kagami’s eyes, like the day he told his best friend he would never play again, Kuroko fled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope to continue this later with another one-shot. I have some the dialogue in my head, and I promise – Kagami has motivation for fleeing to the opposite coast.


	10. Rebirth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Short little piece that takes place before "I'm Just Here to Watch." Kagami won't go anywhere without his shadow.

Kuroko buried himself under his blanket, tears having dried long ago. His light left for UCLA earlier in the day, and though Kuroko had been accepted, the basketball coach told him the college wouldn’t scout him. If he wanted to make the team, he’d have to walk on. The coach’s tone left almost no hope, and he wouldn’t embarrass Kagami.

Kuroko wouldn’t damper his Light.

So he’d do what he’d done in middle school—hide his feelings and die slowly inside.

Banging on the front door. Mumbles from his parents and the newcomer.

His bedroom door slammed open, crashing against the wall.

“Bastard, you missed our flight. I rebooked us on a later one, so grab your stuff and let’s go!" 

Kagami.

Kuroko cowered under his blanket. “Go. Just go…please.”

The cold air assaulted him when his blanket was ripped off. “I’m not going without you.”

“You have to, Taiga-kun.” There’s nothing left of me. “You need to shine on your own.”  


Silence.

“I was wrong. You’re not a bastard. You’re a dumbass. Don’t you know wherever a light goes, his shadow follows? Maybe the Generation of Miracles forgot that, but I won’t. Ever.” Kagami retreated to the door, and Kuroko risked a peek to see his light staring back at him with earnest need. “You’ve always believed in me, Tetsuya. Don’t lose faith in me now.”

“I haven’t, but if my shadow can’t survive with so much light?” he whispered, defeated. “What then?”

“Then believe in me when I say I believe in you. Follow me.” He lifted up his fist, but Kuroko didn’t get up to bump it. “Don’t leave me without a shadow, Tetsuya.”

Kagami left then, but when the stewardess gave the final boarding call, Kagami lifted up his fist once more.

And his shadow bumped it.  
The End


	11. Personal Boundaries

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko doesn't like it when alphas try to mark their territory, namely him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place after the events of "The Glory of Love." It's an alpha/omega indulgence.

Kagami looked absolutely crestfallen when Kuroko approached him on the first day of school. He leaned against the sign, flipping through his phone until his nose perked up. Thankfully, he looked left, then right, but still couldn’t quite “see” Kuroko. So Kuroko took a great sigh of relief. His misdirection still worked, even without the scent of his five alpha friends. 

“Good morning, Kagami-kun,” Kuroko greeted. 

After Kagami jumped about five feet in the air, his melancholy features returned, and he shoved his phone into his jacket pocket. “I smell…just you. You—You washed your uniform, didn’t you?”

“You didn’t think I would notice you rubbed your scent all over them?” Kuroko snapped, not a tidbit remorseful. “And what’s wrong with my scent?”

“I like it, but I like it better when accented with my scent. And I was hoping to stop you from smelling other alphas.” 

“You are not my mate, Kagami-kun.” Kuroko started toward the front entrance for the morning assembly, and sure enough, Kagami followed. “We’re barely friends again, so I would appreciate it if you would respect my personal bound—”

A thick, nauseating stench overwhelmed Kuroko after a large tall and bulky sportsman—probably a wrestler—crossed in front of him. It was revolting—an alpha in heat, no doubt, spreading his pheromones in hopes of attracting any number of omegas and betas. But he didn’t smell alluring at all, just offensive and sweaty. He probably thought that rancid musk would attract the weaker species who hoped to find a powerful mate. 

Instead, it drove Kuroko around Kagami, and he quickly rubbed his face and nose against the taller teen’s back, working his friend’s sweet—and if he only admitted it to himself—attractive scent through his nostrils and skin. The action created an effective barrier to block other alphas’ scent.

Kagami laughed and as if for payback, dragged Kuroko around the front of him, caging Kuroko in his arms. One sensual lick up the back of Kuroko’s neck cemented Kagami’s claim, at least for the day, and Kuroko growled, stripping Kagami of his jacket and dashing to the bathroom as white ears and a tail appeared almost instantly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you like my stories, I post random thoughts/updates of what's in the works on my Tumblr page. I'm ptw30 there, too. :)


	12. Blind Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Aokuroweek2015; Taiga plays matchmaker.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: Aokuro  
> Prompt: Um…none—I suck.   
> A/N: Just a drabble, but I have two longer fics to come this week (hopefully).

The fire was out, but the investigation was underway. So Daiki hung out with Taiga, waiting for their bosses to finish. 

“Nope.”

“Come on, man.”

“A preschool teacher? So not my type.”

“Anything that moves is your type.”

Couldn’t argue with that.

“But you like them short, adorable, and he’s—”

“Kagami-kun?”

Daiki flipped up his glasses to see the younger man standing by the caution tape. Bright eyes took up half his face; his gentle smile broke down all Daiki’s barriers. 

Daiki followed Taiga to the side. “Taiga, who is your friend?”

Taiga smirked. “The preschool teacher.”

_Hot damn._


	13. AoKuroWeek2015: Our Omega

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko presents as an omega, and that can cause friction when your best friends and teammates are all alphas. (Takes place during the Teikou years after Kise joined but before Haizaki left)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place before "The Glory of the Love." I don't think it's necessary to have read that to understand this, though.   
> Pairing: Aokuro (hints of GoM/Kuroko)  
> Sorry so late!

Daiki presented as an alpha early, right before entering Teikou. It was expected. His parents were strong werepeople, so being an alpha was natural, a reflex. 

Akashi had presented early, too, but Murasakibara and Midorima were recognized within the first year. Kise, too, was an alpha; Daiki had smelled him the first time they played. 

Tetsu’s lack of scent left him a mystery until one day, it just didn’t. 

It was an awakening of sorts to them all, a close knit pack of alphas who somehow got along. It just…happened. Sure, there were one or two omegas on the basketball team, too, but whatever. They weren’t the Generation of Miracles. 

But Tetsu was their phantom sixth man. 

And he was an omega. 

When he entered the gym, it was as if time stopped. His sweet, alluring scent seemed to cut through the rude stank of sweat and body spray, and though the humans didn’t even notice Tetsu, every single one of the alpha squad’s heads jerked toward the opening to see their sixth member approach. 

Tetsu blinked at each one of them, slightly taken back by the sudden attention. Usually, there were passing welcomes with some interchangeable prattle, not blank, stunned gazes. 

“Is there a problem?” Tetsu asked, hesitant, and for a second, Daiki actually watched the frightened realization flash through Tetsu’s eyes. He knew they knew; they smelled him and his inferior status. 

Akashi was the first to react, but it was a silent response, a simple swipe of his bottom lip with his tongue. It was predatory as was the sudden glow in his opaque eyes. Kise lunged to tackle his Kurokocchi, but Daiki took care of him with a simple smack of the basketball to the back of his head. He took great pleasure in watching Kise slam against the gym floor. 

Murasakibara looked at Tetsu like he was his next treat but was too lazy to actually eat him.

And Daiki—Daiki reached over and ruffled Tetsu’s hair, like usual, but there was something different about the innocent action this time. Daiki noticed the softness of Tetsu’s hair, the warmth of his skin, and pale, rosy color of his cheeks as Tetsu blushed. 

And were Tetsu’s eyes always the sky-blue color?

Midorima cleared his throat and pushed up his glasses, ever pragmatic. “Shall we begin, Akashi?” he offered. 

Akashi snapped back into his usual closed manner and smiled softly. “Yes, of course.”

No one else seemed to care about the revelation. Nijimura, an omega himself, offered Tetsu a whispered admission, patted him on the back, and yelled at him to keep up with the others. Haizaki, other than widening eyes, didn’t even offer Tetsu a glance, like he wasn’t worthy of his time as an alpha or omega. 

So nothing changed for Teikou’s Generation of Miracles and their team. It just changed for everyone else. 

The next game had been harder, harder than most since Tetsu joined the team, but Daiki thought nothing of Tetsu going on ahead, texting someone on his phone as he left the locker room. Akashi spoke with the coach, and Midorima waited nearby for him. Murasakibara munched down on the latest rice cake mocha daifuku, moaning with appreciation before mumbling about wanting a popsicle—and he wasn’t even done with the rice cake!

Kise, having only played in the second half, was itching to play more, and Daiki offered a short one-on-one game on the outside court before the second string finished. First, he needed to refill his water bottle, and the water fountain was right across from the locker room. As Daiki headed out, something put his primeval senses on alert.

Male pheromones, an alpha’s. Someone wanted lure a beta or omega prey. Someone wanted to mark his territory. Someone wanted to dominate. 

A growl slipped through Daiki’s lips, and his teeth grew into animalistic weapons. He left his water bottle on the fountain and followed the scent toward the point guard they’d just played, the kid prowling on the side of the building. The shadows of the late evening covered his revealed ears and tail; he secreted his alpha scent to overwhelm his target—a boy sitting on the edge of the wall outside the school, looking painfully flush, his eyes unfocused. 

Tetsu. 

Daiki’s fierceness wasn’t limited to the court. Anger shifted into his full panther form, and he crashed through the school’s side door, teeth bared, threat evident in his guttural growl. 

The alpha acted like an inferior species, whimpering and fleeing after Daiki bit his arm and slashed his stomach. Daiki wanted to tear into the alpha. He wanted to make the guy bleed. He wanted to teach the bastard never to use his scent to force a beta or omega into a carnal haze, especially Tetsu. Never Tetsu. 

But he couldn’t follow the bastard, not when Tetsu needed him, so he jumped on top of the wall. Sure enough, Tetsu was entranced, his own body having failed to protect him as the alpha’s scent overwhelmed him, forcing him to physically surrender. 

So Daiki approached Tetsu slowly, solicitously, in hopes of not setting off Tetsu’s animalistic instincts. Ducking his head below Tetsu’s chin, he brushed the exposed skin encouragingly. His own soothing, familiar scent surrounded Tetsu, engulfing the young omega, cleansing Tetsu of that bastard’s offensive stench. With his tail wrapped around Tetsu’s body, Daiki forced his own smell onto Tetsu’s clothes, onto his skin.

Tetsu still stared out at nothing, his usually pale face still red, and Daiki just sat on Tetsu’s lap, just waiting for Tetsu to come back. 

It happened slowly. Tetsu lifted up a hand and laid it upon Daiki’s back, slowly brushing the midnight fur. Daiki purred—it felt good—and then Tetsu’s soft hand grew claws. They scratched along the strong muscles and up along Daiki’s neck, and sniffing twice at the sudden intrusion of Kuroko’s sweet, innocent scent, Daiki glanced back to see Tetsu’s ears twitching and tail swishing, his eyes once more focused but embarrassed. 

“Thank you, Aomine-kun,” he mumbled before he pitched forward, right into Akashi’s waiting arms. 

Teikou had come out, probably when Daiki broke through the glass, and now Murasakibara draped his jacket over Kuroko’s head and shoulders, effectively hiding his ears and tails. Daiki shifted back into his human form as Kise sat down on Tetsu’s opposite side, bookending the young omega with Daiki. 

“They’ll do this again,” Midorima said. “If not this team, then another.”

Daiki drew the depleted Tetsu close to him and like the cat he was, rubbed his cheek against the top of Tetsu’s head. “No, they won’t.”

And they didn’t. Tetsu never caught on, Daiki assumed, when Kise attacked him with tackle hugs, he also put his alpha scent all over Tetsu. Same when Midorima drew him close to discuss plays and ruffled his hair or Akashi slung an arm around his shoulders or Murasakibara dropped his coat on Tetsu’s head. 

Tetsu changed in their presence quite a few times, his ears and tail adorable and playful, their alphas’ scents familiar and comforting. And to every other wereperson out there, Tetsu wasn’t protected by one alpha but five. 

Eventually, Tetsu stopped changing. Their friendships drifted apart but probably not for the reasons Tetsu believed. True, yes, they all excelled in basketball, and yes, games became tiresome and even loathsome events they just dominated, but in truth, they all sought one thing—Tetsu’s affection. 

Of course, they all completely lost it when their blossoming talent overshadowed their friendship, but Daiki wasn’t worried. He and Tetsu had a history. He called dibs way before their Winter Cup promise, and he had no doubt he and Touou would be standing at the top at the end of the season. 

That was, until he met Kagami Taiga. 

The End


	14. On Second Thought

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Midorima missed; Takao missed seeing it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pairing: MidoTaka  
> Prompt: Boredom  
> I’m a Kagakuro lover at heart, but I’m falling more and more in love with MidoTaka by the day.

The Shūtoku gym was in stunned silence. They’d never seen anything like it. 

Midorima Shintarou missed. 

They’d been playing five-on-five, testing some of the new first-years to see how they’d hold up against a Miracle when Midorima went up for a shot at half court. The ball was only a fraction off, but it slammed hard against the rim before rolling out of bounds. 

And Takao was livid. 

“You missed, and I missed it! What the hell, Shin-chan? I swear you did that on purpose!”

“Takao! Go run laps! Everyone on the court, rebound next time!” Coach shouted, and Midorima pushed up his glasses and ran back to play defense. 

Takao, of course, didn’t let it go as they walked home. “I can’t believe I missed it, _and_ I had to run laps. You’re just cruel, Shin-chan.”

“Shut up, Kazunari.” He only used Takao’s real name when they were alone. “It was your fault anyway.”

“My fault! How the hell is you missing my fault?”

Midorima looked down at him with a fierce expression, and Takao thought Shin-chan would finally snap. Instead, he just hmphed and walked away, muttering, “Stop doing backflips in practice after you score. They’re distracting.”

“Distracting!” He ran to catch up with Midorima. “How the hell are backflips—” 

“They mimic other…physical activities we enjoy together,” Midorima explained, his cheeks bright red. He didn’t elaborate, and he didn’t need to. Already, an evil smile was crossing Takao’s mischievous face. 

Sure, he missed Midorima’s failed shot again, but Takao loved hearing Midorima shout his name in frustration the next day. And hey, why not give the newbies something to talk about?

“TAKAO!” the coach shouted again. “GO RUN LAPS!”

On second thought…


	15. MidoTaka Day: The Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Takao makes the starting line-up; not everyone on Shuutoku's team is thrilled.
> 
> Last-minute entry! I didn't know it was MidoTaka Day!

Usually when Coach Nakatani announced the starting line, there were cheers. There was clapping, but those had been practice games. The first real game of the season was tomorrow, and dead silence greeted the final announcement. 

Takao Kazunari was the starting point guard, surpassing the third-year veteran Akiyama. 

The ridicule was silent but heavy, weighing on Takao’s back the entire practice, but he seemed to thrive under the pressure, rising to the occasion and throwing Midorima some of the most accurate passes he had yet. Still, Midorima heard the rumbles, the doubt, among their non-starting senpai. Akiyama was respected, a veteran of the team, and though this would be his first year starting, great things were expected from him. 

And he had been surpassed by the laughing, foolhardy Takao.

Takao, who stayed later than even Midorima; Takao, who wanted nothing more than to be recognized by Midorima; Takao, who had been crushed by Teikou and built himself back up. 

Midorima said nothing, not to Takao when the announcement came, not when Takao looked at him expectantly, not when Takao took him on in practice and lost, miserably. 

Finally, Takao whispered while they were in line for final lay-ups, “Even you, Shin-chan?” 

He heard the unspoken, _Even you doubt me?_

Takao didn’t wait for a response, not that Midorima would have offered one. 

No one stayed late that night. By order of coach, extra practice was prohibited the night before a game. Rest was needed. 

Takao always took longer than the rest of team to get ready, but Midorima didn’t mind. He was used to waiting for Kise, who took a ridiculous amount of time to style his hair, and Midorima enjoyed the utter surprise on Takao’s face when he walked out to see Midorima waiting by the door of the gym, a special fan in his hand as that day’s item. 

But then Takao’s shoulders slumped. “All right, Shin-chan. Hit me with it. Tell me how I’m not as good as your crazy former captain.”

Midorima blinked. That was easy. “You’re not.”

Takao staggered as if hit. “Well, that hurt. Thanks, Shin-chan. You aimed straight for the heart on that one.”

“You said for me to tell you, and I did.” 

“Well, I didn’t think you really would!”

“Then you shouldn’t ask for things if you’re not prepared to receive them.” 

They were walking out of the gym now, heading toward the congested sidewalks of Tokyo. “What? Is that some psychological voodoo about how if I’m not ready for the pressure of being our starting point guard, then I shouldn’t aim for it?”

“Nonsense. You’re just not as good as Akashi. No one is.”

Takao wandered next him, blinking in surprise. “Oh. Hey, where are we going? You live that way.” 

Midorima hesitated for a brief moment, not wanting to harm Takao with bitter memories, but they couldn’t ignore their past. “At Teikou, there was a tradition. Every time someone made the starting line-up, we took them out for a Popsicle. I was the third member of the Generation of Miracles to make first string, following Akashi and Aomine. We went after Murasakibara, Kuroko, and finally Kise made it, too.”

Takao’s disarming smile was a reward all its own. “Oh, you’re just a big softie, Shin-chan!” 

It was true that it was his idea, and Takao would never know that the coach actually came to him, Otsubo, Kimura, and the Miyaji Brothers to ask about the starting point guard position. The five of them agreed. Takao was the one who deserved it, who was their best shot at an Interhigh championship. They all believed in him, especially Midorima. There was something about Takao, something that made Midorima relax upon court and actually…enjoy himself. He hadn’t felt that since his second-year in Teikou. 

So Midorima decided it was an experiment of sorts. He’d keep Takao close for now, to figure out just what it was about the point guard that made Midorima smile when Takao wasn’t looking or forced him to acknowledge such a frivolous person. And he would find out eventually. 

Right now, though, he would just hide his smile at the way Takao gasped and beamed as they came up to the convenience store where the Miyaji Brothers, Kimura, and Otsubo waited to celebrate their newest starting member.


	16. Miracle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU; Midokuro...sorta

Ōtsubo growled. Day one and already Midorima was making demands. 

“Coach told me to forgive three whims of yours a day, but this isn’t a whim. It’s is a freaking Christmas miracle.”

“How many whims will it take for you to grant me this?”

Ōtsubo glanced about Midorima’s taller form before shaking his head. “This whole season’s.”

Midorima gritted this teeth but nodded. “Fine. Do it.”

“…are…are you serious?”

No hesitation. “Yes.”

Ōtsubo shook his head and walked about Midorima to offer the puking first-year a towel. “Welcome to first string, Kuroko-kun.”


	17. Five-Second Rule

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko and Murasakibara are found in an uncompromising position.   
> Pairing: Kuroko/Murasakibara...sorta

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm pretty sure every single one of my fics, I can blame Eprime for...except The Cyan Kitten, though she continued to encourage me on it. So I guess that counts, too. ;p

Snacks, candies, all types of goodies heaped upon Murasakibara’s bed from his and Kuroko’s latest excursion, and they meticulously went through each new treat in a taste-test of their own making. Their dorm mates no doubt thought they were buying enough sweets for the winter, not knowing this stash might not last the weekend.

“Hm…too sour,” Murasakibara muttered, sticking out his tongue once he swallowed.

“It is rather tart. How about this one? It looks to be blueberry flavored. You love blueberry.”

“Ng. If it’s sweet.” Murasakibara grabbed the blue-wrapped candy and pulled the edges. The hard candy jumped from its plastic cradle, tumbling into Kuroko’s lap and down a crease. Murasakibara’s longer fingers followed without thought. 

Kuroko’s eyes went wide; his legs uncurled. “Murasakibara-kun!” he admonished as the door to their room opened.

“Tetsuya, Atsushi! The team is wait—oh.”

Kuroko froze with Murasakibara’s hand between his legs, which were hitched over Murasakibara’s knees.

“Uh, the team can wait a little longer.” Himuro slammed shut the door.

“Hm. Found it,” Murasakibara said, unflustered, and popped the candy into his mouth. “Five-second rule.”

The End


	18. Not Losing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> AU: GoM go to Rakuzan  
> Pairing: Blink and you miss Akakuro

Tetsuya blinked, and his expression was anything but blank. “I haven’t found the answer yet, but I won’t run anymore.”

“Good.” Akashi was pleased. “Rakuzan’s dorms open April 3rd. We’ll meet the others at the station that morning for the bullet train.”

Akashi didn’t wait for Tetsuya to reply and walked passed him, though a hand snatched his wrist. “Rakuzan? But Akashi-kun, I’m going to—”

“No, you’re not going to Seirin. None of you are going to the schools you picked.” He savored the absolute look of surprise upon Tetsuya’s face. Akashi liked being the one to elicit such responses from him. “I’ve already had letters sent to each of your chosen schools and completed your transfers to Rakuzan.”

Tetsuya’s head slowly shook back and forth, blinking as if he couldn’t grasp what Akashi had said. “Akashi-kun, it is impolite to make changes in other’s paths without their consent.”

“Why would we split?” Akashi said evenly. “We were absolute in middle school basketball for the last three years. There is very little doubt we will not do the same in the high school.”

“And an Akashi always wins,” Tetsuya interjected. Why was he smiling? And why was it…endearing? “The question is, what does he value most? Winning…or _not losing_?”

Before Akashi could ask what he meant by that, Tetsuya released him and turned toward the school’s exit. “I will see you on April 3rd, Akashi-kun, and perhaps together, we will find our answers.”

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I figured Akashi changed because he didn’t want to lose his friends, so what if he decided not to let go? And he ordered them to all go to Rakuzan? I’d love to follow this thought process one day.


	19. Clearing the Cobwebs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hanamiya and Kuroko--who would have thought?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Eprime for New Year's.

Hanamiya snorted. It was rather rude and not at all dignified, but the look upon Kuroko's face when he bit into the cake with vanilla icing and realized the inside was completely chocolate, was rather funny. 

Of course, the little bastard got him back on his birthday, buying him a feather duster.

"To clear the cobwebs off Hanamiya's game."

Hanamiya sneered, "You are truly evil."

"Hanamiya-san is going to need more than cheap tricks to win the Winter Cup."

Those wide, bluer-than-blue eyes were full of mirth, and Hanamiya wondered when, exactly, he lost his balls. Was it on Kuroko's birthday when he made up for the cake incident (and the laughing) by buying the kid a handful of vanilla milkshakes? Or when he started staying after his games at the InterHigh to watch Seirin's matches and might have shanghaied a certain light-haired thug, offering a little non-friendly advice to not mess with a certain blue-haired small forward. Or maybe it was that one Sunday, almost six months ago, when Kuroko came over his house for the first time, and they did nothing but lay upon the couch, limbs entwined. They didn't even speak except for a few greetings and lunch orders, and they read in comfortable silence. 

Yeah, that was probably when he fell for Kuroko, even if he hadn't realized it at the time. He should have though, what with his genius IQ and all. But he'd absentmindedly drawn patterns upon Kuroko's legs, which were thrown over his lap, as they read their respective novels. Only loser lovey dovey idiots did that, but he hadn't thought twice that day.

So he forced a non-frown to face as he held his present and grumbled, "Smart ass."

That sounded even lame to him, but Kuroko's usual non-existent smile reigned as he reached out to fold his fingers with Hanamiya's. 

And then Kuroko laughed—or so Hanamiya thought. He'd never heard Kuroko laugh before, and he hated himself even more when he thought how _that_ was a present in and of itself.

"That is not Hanamiya-san's real gift. This is Hanamiya-san's birthday present."

Great. Now the kid was messing with him. He opened the second box, uncertain of what he'd find and stared quizzically at Kuroko when he pulled out an eyebrow trimmer.

"It comes with two lengths, but I recommend the longer one for Hanamiya-san." The kid was serious, and when he spoke again, concern tainted his voice. "Hanamiya-san doesn't like my gift? Kagami-kun said this is the best kind."

Hanamiya held in his sigh and was just thankful Seto wasn't there to watch him ruffle Kuroko's hair and mutter, "Well, that idiot should know."

The End


	20. My Milkshake Brings...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another fluffy drabble in the omegaverse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I ever write the long-ass omega story, this is not how Kagami would eventually win Kuroko's heart, but I like fluff. So here is fluff.

Kagami was late, though that really wasn’t anything new. Between time differences, searching for clean clothes, and always forgetting something at home—usually his homework—Kagami ended up showing up at Maji Burger after his and Kuroko’s scheduled time. 

But today was different, and Kagami pumped legs harder, faster, _come on!_ Over the last week, Kagami made sure to be on time for his and Kuroko’s breakfast “dates,” as he chose to call them. Kagami would order about twenty of those mini breakfast sandwiches while Kuroko would order a vanilla milkshake, and they went over last night’s homework and chatted about games and whatever came to mind before heading to school for morning practice. 

But Kuroko turned sixteen less than a week ago, and for werepeople, such as themselves, it was even a bigger milestone than normal humans. Shifters presented in their early teens, usually twelve or thirteen, and around their sixteenth birthday, they went into their first heat. Alphas ranged, of course, some going into their first cycle as early as fifteen, and betas varied as well, depending on the number of alphas in the family. But omegas were pretty on-schedule with their times, and Kuroko had yet to go into his. 

In fact, Kuroko did a superb job of keeping his scents bottled inside, of hiding his emotions, of hiding in general, except from Kagami, which Kagami adored. It was like Kuroko felt comfortable enough around him to let go of his inhabitations, but heat cycles weren’t conscious decisions. Kuroko couldn’t turn off those scents and sensations, so Kagami made sure to be with Kuroko before and after school, even walking the omega home at night. He would have picked Kuroko up in the morning, but Kuroko forbid Kagami from coming to his door. Apparently, Kuroko’s family—grandmother included—was rooting for Kagami to win Kuroko’s heart, and Kuroko wanted to keep the embarrassing talks and winks down to a minimum. 

And since his sixteenth birthday, Kuroko refused Kagami at every turn. When Kagami made advances, Kuroko shut down, his face going blank, his eyes sharpening, and he crossed his arms as if to say, “This isn’t happening, so stop trying.”

But Kuroko was vulnerable without the scent of an alpha mate, open for anyone to mount him the moment he went into heat. Too weak to fend them off, Kuroko would be used and marked, his scent changing from a sweet vanilla aroma to a putrid, defensive stench, meant to keep any and all alphas and betas away.

But Kagami would never leave Kuroko’s side, and he would never allow such a thing to happen. So he made sure to be by Kuroko at every turn, except this morning because he forgot to set his stupid alarm after the ridiculously hard practice last night. 

Of course, today would be the day he opened the door to Maji Burger and be overwhelmed by Kuroko’s distressed scent. He rushed inside, finding his best friend sitting off to the side of the ordering line, head hanging, shoulders slumped. His hair resembled his horrible bedhead, like someone had ruffled it terribly. 

Anger erupted after his fear dispersed, and Kagami sunk to the floor, patting Kuroko on the shoulders with shaking hands. 

“Tetsu, oh, God. Tetsu. Are you okay? What—”

He was stunned by the completely depressed look upon Kuroko’s face, and Kuroko admitted in a breathless whisper, “They’re out of vanilla milkshakes.”

Kagami wanted to be angry and yell and scold Kuroko for scaring him like, but Kuroko looked so utterly dejecting that Kagami couldn’t help but feel for him (and be relieved that Kuroko was safe). So he clamped a hand upon Kuroko’s head and muttered, “Coach will kill us for skipping morning practice, but you want to go back to my place? I’ll make you a homemade shake. I brought vanilla bean ice cream just the other day.”

Kuroko grabbed the front of Kagami’s shirt and jerked him close to whisper, “If it’s good enough, Kagami-kun can mark me with his scent as a reward.”

Kagami needed no other incentive. He grabbed Kuroko, tossing him over his shoulder, and dashed back to his apartment. They ended up calling in sick that day, and when Kagami walked Kuroko home that night, he dropped him at the door, much to Kuroko’s parents’ delight.


	21. Five Seconds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Every time Kagami or Kuroko screws up in their relationship, they get five seconds to explain. This time, Taiga needs five seconds...and three years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For Iceflow. :)

_“Five seconds.”_

_Tetsu blinked. “Huh?”_

_“Five seconds,” Taiga pleaded, snatching Tetsu by the shoulders just before the doors to the Seirin gym. “Before you go, just give me five seconds to explain.”_

_“You want five seconds to explain why you posted a picture of me, sleeping on your bed, in your oversized shirt on Facebook,” Tetsu said in a low, measured tone. “You’re friends not just with half of Seirin but also people I’ve known since I was eleven. I woke up to more than ten texts—”_

_“I know, but—”_

_“—from Momoi-san alone.”_

_Taiga’s fingers wrapped about Tetsu’s biceps, clutching painfully tight. “Please. Five seconds.”_

_Tetsu sighed. He might as well. They still had two years of playing together at Seirin. “One—”_

_Taiga wrung the back of his neck. “I didn’t mean literally.”_

_“Two—”_

_“Okay, okay. Geez! Look, I wanted them to see, okay? It’s not like—”_

_“Three—”_

_“You hang around with them all the time! And then there’s that whole fist-bump, starry-eye thing with Ahomine—”_

_“Four—”_

_“So I want them to know who’s your light now, okay? I want them to understand that you might be a Miracle, but you’re now a member of—”_

_“Five—”_

_“I love you, okay!”_

_Tetsu blinked, dumbfounded, and then responded the only way he could manage. He snatched Taiga by the collar and tugged him down into a very awkward and quite embarrassing first kiss._

*^*^*  
 _Nine years later…_

Tetsu crossed his arms and put on his angry face as two of the only people in the world who could tell this was his face were looking straight at him. One of them, however, looked brilliant, glowing and overjoyed, while the other looked like he was about ready to bust a gut.

Tetsu curbed his urge to chop Daiki in said gut as the children of his preschool were watching, and he needed to set a good example. After all, it was his own fault for not believing Daiki could be cunning.

“Have you scheduled the kids’ annual trip to the police station and firehouse?” he’d said two weeks ago over a beer.

Tetsu shrugged and ordered his usual from Ryou. “No, not yet, but we usually don’t go until September or October.”

“You should go earlier this year. The chief wanted to do some training exercises during the fall, so I think it’ll better if you come sooner rather than later.”

So he scheduled their trip for early June and thought it suspicious but not particularly odd that Daiki decided to lead them from the police station to the firehouse next door. That was, until Daiki knocked on the first fire truck. “Hey, Lt. Kagami. You’ve got company.”

Tetsu forget to breathe, especially when Taiga hung off the truck’s doorway in a tight black shirt and firefighter’s pants, looking all rugged charmingly without trying to be, and smiling in a way that either would frighten or endear children. It usually endeared more than just children, Tetsu knew all too well.

“So…are these the new junior firefighters coming for training?” His eyes traveled over all the kids before they settled upon Tetsu’s, as fiery as the first day they’d met at the Seirin gym, smoldering with such deep affection that Tetsu almost burned in their brilliance.

Daiki looked like he was about to laugh himself to death, and just as Tetsu got on his angry face, Taiga was there, in front of him, his body heat so close it was feverish.

It would be easy to fall into the trap again, to allow himself to be swept up in Taiga’s always strong and comforting embrace, but they weren’t children anymore. They weren’t even friends. 

“Come on, kids,” Daiki graciously courted the children away. “Remember how police officers like doughnuts? Well, firefighters like cupcakes, and I believe the station chief has a set for you guys.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, Tetsu buried his fingertips in Kagami’s gut.

“Ouch! Tetsu, what gives?” Taiga cried as he jumped out of Tetsu’s personal space.

“I could say the same for you,” Tetsu replied as blank as ever, though he knew Taiga could hear the chill to his tone. “I am here with my class, Kagami-kun. It would be best for us to remain professional.”

Tetsu wasn’t a vengeful being, or he might have taken slight pleasure in seeing Taiga wince at the use of his formal name as opposed to the “Taiga-kun” or even, at their most intimate of times, “Tai.”

“Tet—Kuroko, it’s not—it’s not like I wanted…things to end how…they did...or to end at all, but—”

“ _You_ broke up with _me_.”

“It’s not that simple.”

“Via text.”

Taiga winced. “I didn’t think—God, Tetsu. That wasn’t what I meant!”

Tetsu set his jaw. He really didn’t want to get into it here—on duty—but the universe was never kind to him. “And what did you mean when you wrote, ‘Then perhaps it’s better if you don’t come’? Did I misinterpret that?”

“I meant I was traded, and you weren’t happy with moving from L.A. to New York. But I couldn’t not go. It was my job, Tetsu.”

“Yes, I am aware that your career was more important than our relationship.”

Another wince. “Tetsu, come on. That’s not fair. You also didn’t want to be splattered upon TMZ like some kind of—”

“Yes, I value my privacy— _our_ privacy—but it’s something I was willing to sacrifice for you.”

“Tetsu—”

“Enough, Kagami-kun,” Tetsu snapped with the same tone he used on his five year olds. “We are not together anymore. You do not need to make excuses or justify your actions. You made your choice, and it was not me.”

“But—”

“But I always wondered what it would be like if I ever saw you again, and now that I have, I know.” Tetsu managed a broken smile. “You look…well. I’m glad you made the choice you made. It was the best path for you, and I hope it continues to serve you favorably.”

As Tetsu followed after his class, Taiga snatched his shoulders from behind, fingers clenched to bruise. “Tetsu, will you just listen to me for five seconds? That’s all I ask. Five seconds.”

Tetsu sighed. In the six years they’d been together, this had become their way of handling any argument. Five seconds, they always gave their partner, five seconds to explain any situation before they broke, and they never broke. Not until the end.

So Tetsu blew out a reserved breath and muttered, “One—”

“You didn’t answer my calls—”

“Two—”

“I came back for you, but by the time I reached L.A., you were gone.”

“Three—”

“I called Daiki, and I told him to speak to you—”

“Four—”

“Ugh! This isn’t working—”

“Five—”

“I love you!”

Tetsu smiled, sadly and tearfully, and turned to pat Taiga on the chest. “I know but not enough.”

“One more second!” Taiga begged. “ _Please._ ”

“What more is there to say, Kagami-kun? Other than good-bye?”

Taiga looked so broken and distraught, like Tetsu had felt all those years ago when he’d read that text message, and Tetsu wish he could stay more, wish somehow he could change what happened. But Taiga made his choice, and now, they both had to live with it.

But as he moved to leave again, Tetsu’s hand swiped over his chest, right where Taiga’s necklace hung under his shirt. That was unusual. Tetsu only knew Taiga only to take off his necklace when playing in official games, and he never hid it under any article of clothing. So Tetsu worked the chain out, followed by Himuro’s ring…and a second one with blue crystals surrounded by flame red rubies.

"Say yes," Taiga murmured.

Tetsu stared at the glistening object, fixated on its splendid beauty. Slowly, his eyes raised to meet Taiga’s, and he shook his head, resigned.

"I...I can't. Kagami-kun, I—"

“I didn’t wash out of the NBA,” Taiga murmured, his hand coming up to rest against Tetsu’s cheek. His warm thumb wiped away tears Tetsu didn’t know he cried. “I came here to get you back.”

"But-But—"

"You're right. I was stupid to even think I could go anywhere without you, and when I was there and you weren't at my games, it physically hurt, Tetsu."

"But it's been three years."

"When you weren't at the apartment, I thought you'd never forgive me. You weren't picking up your phone, and Ahomine said you hated me. I thought I lost you forever, but then you showed up on my Facebook feed, playing basketball with the kids and without a ring. You were the passing the ball, and I thought, maybe, you were actually passing to me."

"I asked Daiki not to post it."

"He wanted to show me what I was missing, and I missed you, Tetsu, a lot." He got down on one knee and slowly maneuvered the ring off the chain. "I know I can never make it up to you, but if you'd let me, I'd like to spend a lifetime trying."

*^*^*  
 _A few months later…_

“Just remember. You were the one who wanted this.”

“I like watching you play, Taiga-kun, and it’s wrong for you to give it up so quickly.”

“I like being a firefighter.”

“And you can be one again, but right now, you belong here, on this court.”

Taiga grunted. “But it comes at a price.”

“Are you willing to pay it?”

Taiga folded his fingers with Tetsu’s and raised their joined hands to press a kiss to Tetsu’s ring finger, complete with blue and red jeweled ring. “Without a second thought. Are you?”

Tetsu took a deep breath, bracing himself, and then nodded. Taiga flashed him a cheeky grin, and together, they stepped off of the jetway and into the corridors of Los Angeles International Airport. They managed to make through baggage claim before they were assaulted by numerous camera flashes and microphones. 

“Hey, hey, Taiga Kagami! Is it true, dude? Are you into dudes?”

Taiga laughed at the TMZ reporter. “Nah, man. Just one dude.” He detached his hand from Tetsu’s to wrap his arm about Tetsu’s neck and draw him closer. “America, meet my husband, Kuroko Tetsuya. He likes being called Mister Kagami—ouch! Tetsu!”

Tetsu removed his fingers from Kagami’s ribs. “I thought we decided on Mister Kuroko for you,” he replied in Japanese. 

“We’re being recorded,” Taiga continued in English, “and since your husband is famous, you should take my name.”

“Taiga-kun wants to sleep on the couch tonight,” Tetsu barely managed in English. 

Taiga laughed as they came to the curb where taxis awaited, still followed by the cameras and reporters. “Y’know, there are millions of Americans who would willingly take my name. Just saying, Tetsu.”

Tetsu turned a wide glare in Taiga’s direction, who immediately clutched him tighter. “Five seconds! Give me five seconds!”

Tetsu ducked into the open taxi cab door. “One—”

“I’m sorry.” 

“Two—”

Taiga yelled from behind the taxi, where he placed their luggage in the car’s trunk. “I’m sorry.”

“Three—”

“I’m sorry.”

“Four—”

Taiga climbed inside the cab. “I love you.”

“Five—”

“Please don’t divorce me.”

Tetsu laughed, indulgent, and seized Taiga’s cheeks for a kiss. “It would be wrong to divorce you, Tai. You’re an idiot. You don’t think before you speak.”

Now Taiga’s eyes widened, and Tetsu smiled against his lips, “Five seconds?”

He used his five seconds to kiss Taiga heatedly and thoroughly, and needless to say, Taiga forgave him. 

The End


	22. Fourteen Minutes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twin Fic: It's Tetsuya and Seijuro's first birthday following the Winter Cup! Can the two halves of a single soul be whole again? (Mention of KagaKuro)

Tetsuya didn’t remember when the tradition began, only that Seijuro started it. He woke up insanely early on their birthday, padded down to Tetsuya’s room with a vanilla cupcake and a candle, while Tetsuya met him at the door with his own red velvet cupcake. And then they sat upon Tetsuya’s bed, waiting for 12:20 A.M. to click, at which time Seijuro would make a wish and blow out his candle. At 12:34 A.M., Tetsuya followed suit, and then they passed out again until morning. 

But following last year’s tournament, in which Seijuro crushed Ogiwara’s team in the most humiliating way, Seijuro didn’t come to Tetsuya’s door, and even if he had, Tetsuya wouldn’t have answered it. 

A year passed. Seirin won the Winter Cup and Tetsuya reconnected with his brother again, but as he lay awake at 12:18, he wasn’t quite sure if everything was completely back to the way it was until 12:19 blinked on his phone. Nigou whimpered softly, his tail flopping back and forth as he stared at the closed door. 

A single text came through Tetsuya’s phone. _Knock, knock._

Biting his lower lip to keep the wide smile contained, Tetsuya spun off his bed, covering Nigou with his blankets, and dashed to the door to find Seijuro standing there, vanilla cupcake in hand. 

“Happy Birthday, Tetsuya.”

“Happy Birthday, Aniki.” 

They retreated into the room, so as not to wake their father, and while Seijuro headed to the bed and uncovered Nigou, who thanked him with excited licks upon Seijuro’s cheeks, Tetsuya pulled Seijuro’s red velvet cupcake from his drawer and lit the candle. 

At precisely 12:20, he presented it to Seijuro. 

“Many more, Aniki.”

Seijuro’s smile was nothing if not indulgent, tender. “Thank you.”

He closed his eyes for a brief instant and then blew out the candle as the first text vibrated on his phone. 

“Is it from Midorima-kun?” Tetsuya asked, sitting with his legs underneath him across from Seijuro, who shook his head with a puzzled expression. 

“No, it’s from Kagami. Did you explain to him how we celebrate?”

“Yes, he asked me to sleepover, and I declined. He seemed very sad, so I tried to cheer him up.”

“Ah.”

Another text vibrated.

“This one is from Midorima-kun?” Tetsuya asked, coaxing Nigou off Seijuro’s lap, where he had sniffed up at the plate, wanting a bite of Seijuro’s cake. 

Seijuro banished his phone to the bed as he ate. “Kise, actually. So you have plans with Kagami today?”

“Seirin is throwing me a party.”

“Seirin or Kagami?”

Tetsuya shrugged, fingers trailing through Nigou’s hair to keep him occupied. “…Taiga-kun most likely. His brother is coming, and I think Takao mentioned something about it. So I think it’s—what?” He asked, blinking at Seijuro’s twisted smirk. 

“ ‘Taiga-kun,’ Tetsuya? Is there something I should know?”

Another text, which Tetsuya took as divine intervention, and sighed. “So this one is from Midorima-kun?”

“Momoi-san. You are very bad at this, Tetsuya.”

“One of these times it must be Midorima. Process of elimination.”

“Perhaps.”

Tetsuya shook his head when Seijuro offered him a bite of his cupcake. He wasn’t a fan of chocolate, red velvet or otherwise. That, too, seemed like a tradition all its own—each one offered the other a bite, and the other declined. 

“So what are your plans, Aniki?”

Seijuro finished his cake and presented his fingers to Nigou, who lapped up the tiny crumbs on the tips. “My team is coming up early for breakfast. Since Seirin’s party is in the evening, I thought the Miracles could play three-on-three after lunch.”

Tetsuya didn’t try to hide his smile this time. “Sounds like a brilliant plan.”

“I’m glad you approve. You will be coming to the breakfast.” It wasn’t a question, though Tetsuya thought suspiciously it sounded like one. 

“Yes, of course. And you’ll be coming to Seirin’s party.”

“Absolutely.”

Another text interrupted Tetsuya’s laughter, and he sighed with the weight of hesitation. “…Midorima-kun?”

“Aomine.”

Testuya swore; Seijuro’s head perked up. 

“I do not believe this ‘Taiga-kun’ has been a good influence on you. I might have to ask Midorima to bring his scissors.”

“Aomine-kun swears much worse than Taiga-kun.”

“Tetsuya,” Seijuro uncharacteristically hesitated, eyes shimmering in the low light. “You didn’t know Kagami last year, and the rest of us were…” Seijuro seemed to force himself to look at his younger twin. “How did you spend our last birthday?”

Nigou whimpered when Tetsuya held him close to his chest, head tipped down until his long bangs covered his eyes. 

It was Aomine, of course, with his brash front and unfiltered mouth, who asked Tetsuya once, “Don’t you hate having to share your birthday with someone else?”

Tetsuya blinked, truly bewildered. “Isn’t it lonely celebrating all by yourself?”

Sure, the Generation of Miracles all celebrated each other’s birthdays, but it wasn’t the same as _sharing_ the celebration with Seijuro. They always had each other—except for those first fourteen minutes in which Seijuro was alone and their first year in high school after Tetsuya refused to attend Rakuzan. Even though his brother’s second personality was in charge, he saw the sadness of rejection in Seijuro’s eyes when Tetsuya told him he chose Seirin. 

But they were always there for each other, the stereotypical epitome of twins. When Tetsuya wanted to quit basketball in middle school, Seijuro was there, leading him along with inspiration and support. When Seijuro’s other presence took over, Tetsuya was there, trying his best to keep everything together (and failing miserably). 

And while his brother was away with their father for their last birthday, Tetsuya went to the streetball court near their house and played—alone—for perhaps the first time since Aomine found him in the third gym. It was then, on that court, he decided to join Seirin and fight to retrieve the only family he’d never known—his Teikou team and his older twin. 

Though there were two Akashi Seijuros, Tetsuya and Seijuro were half of the same soul, and nothing hurt more than being separated on the anniversary of their meeting. 

Tetsuya smiled a sad grin when he reached out to entwine his fingers with his brother’s and replied, “Last birthday I spent missing you.” He quickly added the moment after Seijuro flinched, “What did you do?”

Seijuro tightened his fingers about Tetsuya’s. “I went for a tour of Rakuzan in between Father’s meetings, and in the evening, Driver took me to ride Yukimaru.” He glanced down at the furball yawning in Tetsuya’s lap. “We’ve never introduced Yukimaru and Nigou, have we?”

Tetsuya felt the gloomy emotions from last year begin to dissipate, and he rid his eyes of fresh tears with a smooth swipe of his thumb. “No, I don’t believe we have.”

“Then you’ll come down to Kyoto next week with Nigou after Saturday practice.” Another statement but Tetsuya understood its meaning. Seijuro wanted to be close with him again, like they were before that second championship. 

And Tetsuya couldn’t have agreed fast enough. “Yes.”

“Good.” Seijuro returned the good nature with a satisfied grin, beautiful and kind. “And you’ll forgive me for last year’s birthday like I forgave you for leaving me alone those first fourteen minutes of our lives.”

It was an old fight, but it made Tetsuya smile nonetheless. “It was not by choice, Aniki.”

“Of course it wasn’t, but you couldn’t have come faster? Some twins are born only four minutes apart.”

“And one twin was born eighty-seven days later.”

“That does not excuse your tardiness, Tetsuya.”

“The average time between twin births is _seventeen_ minutes, which means that I was actually—”

Seijuro’s phone alarm went off at exactly 12:34 A.M., ending the fight, and the older twin lit the candle upon the vanilla cupcake. 

“Happy Birthday, Tetsuya.”

Tetsuya smiled, wide and bright and true. “Thank you, Aniki.”

When he made a wish and blew out the candle, Seijuro smirked. “Father did not buy you a Maji Burger restaurant for your birthday, so you can get free shakes.”

“Shh! Aniki, it is not polite to tell other people’s wishes.”

“It’s not my fault you are so predictable—”

Tetsuya’s phone vibrated. 

Seijuro’s smirked only deepened. “‘Taiga-kun’ is very punctual.”

Now it was Tetsuya’s turn to laugh. “It’s Midorima-kun.”

Seijuro pursed his lips as Tetsuya's grew louder - though it was still only soft and teasing - so he prompted with a smug grin, “Aren’t you going to offer me any of yours? It’s tradition.”

Tetsuya did so without thinking, and Seijuro stole the last slither of vanilla cupcake, plopping the whole thing in his mouth. Tetsuya’s laughter ended abruptly, and a devastated glower pierced Seijuro. Thus, Tetsuya’s dream came true. 

Seijuro convinced their father to add one Maji Burger restaurant to his business portfolio. 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...this just spewed out of me today. Happy Belated Birthday, Kuroko! (And Very Much Older Belated Birthday, Akashi!)


	23. FtS Omake: Pull the Drapes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Omake Three for "Forsaking Shadowsl" It was a little long to post in the after-credits of Chapter Ten.

“Tetsu!” Taiga called the moment Tetsuya closed the front door behind him, a double-chocolately chip frappe in one hand, a vanilla latte in the other. 

“Yes, Taiga-kun. I remembered the whip cream,” Tetsuya laughed but immediately stopped when Taiga stomped out of the bedroom of his penthouse, dressed in a criminally tight T-shirt and jeans. His tongue swiped over his bottom lip, but Taiga’s obvious heat—and not from desire—made Tetsuya blink. 

“I hope Taiga-kun is not mad at me for using his toothbrush.”

“Tetsu, I'm a celebrity. You can't do anything embarrassing in public, or the world knows!”

Tetsuya hummed, taking a sip of his vanilla latte. “To what are you referring, Taiga-chan? I rudely ignored all the reporters outside of your building.”

Taiga lifted up his phone to show a specific post. “You posted a picture of us, in my bed, while I was sleeping, with your ring up for the camera to see.”

“I only tagged Aniki and Tatsuya-san. I thought it was important to tell our brothers.”

“And announce our engagement to the entire world!”

“You make it sound like I told Ryouta-kun.”

“He still saw it and apparently retweeted it, which TMZ saw and is now running it on their homepage!”

“Good.”

Taiga grabbed his trenta frappe with force. “Good? Tetsu, how the hell is our private life all over the news a good thing?”

Folding their hands together, Tetsuya lifted up his decorated finger and Taiga’s naked one. “This way, everyone will know you are mine until I can get you a ring.”

Taiga’s eyes rounded before he let out a frustrated sigh. “Tetsu, I—look, my bosses don’t like me being a spectacle—hmph.”

Tetsuya yanked him down for a sudden kiss and took great satisfaction in Taiga’s instant surrender. Smirking against Taiga’s mouth, he slowly began to undo his fiancée’s jeans, shoving them to the floor and following after. 

“Tetsu! Wait—ahh. T-The curtains…”

“We are more than twenty-five stories up, Taiga-kun,” Tetsuya admonished after a rather large suck. “I doubt anyone can see us here.”

When Taiga reached for his phone on the end table that afternoon, he found it suspiciously missing—as well as his fiancée. 

“Tetsu!” he growled, and this time, when Tetsuya soothed him, they made sure to pull the drapes.


	24. AkaKuro Week 2016 Drabbles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A collection of drabbles I posted on Tumblr for AkaKuro Week 2016

**Drabble #1:** Where Are You Now?  
**Prompt:** Memories 

Seijuro’s eyes wandered to the picture on his desk from that first Winter Cup championship game. Tetsuya wore his gold medal, Seijuro his silver, each with a bright smile. Seijuro often thought of those days and wondered where Tetsuya was now. Was he walking Nigou? Teaching children to play basketball or count on their fingers? Perhaps sipping a vanilla milkshake at Maji Burger?

_Buzz. Buzz._

“Sir, Kuoko-san is here for lunch. Should I send him in?”

Or perhaps none of the above, much to Seijuro’s delight. 

“Yes, please do.”

 **Drabble #2: Societal Norms**  
**Prompt:** Treats

Seijuro accosted his boyfriend outside of the Seirin gym. “Happy Valentine’s Day, Tetsuya.”

“Thank you, Sei-kun.” Tetsuya accepted the gift with a furious blush and opened the top to see the dark chocolate goodies. “They’re not vanilla.”

“Yes, the customary sweets are chocolate.”

“But I like vanilla.”

“I do not make the customs, Tetsuya.” 

And so when Kuroko showed up at Rakuzan a month later, he handed a similar box to his boyfriend with a sinister grin. “Happy White Day, Sei-kun.”

Inside was white lingerie, to which Seijuro furled an eyebrow. 

Tetsuya shrugged. “I do not make the customs, Sei-kun.”

 **Day Three** : In Your Presence  
**Prompt:** Façade, Risks, and Danger

Seijuro received his omega from his father as a fifth birthday present. It was an adorable little fluff of white and black fur with pale blue eyes and a quiet disposition. It rarely barked or made any noise, really, and it all but blended into the background of everyday life at the Akashi Household.

It lay at Seijuro’s feet under the dinner table or across his lap during his study sessions. It even followed Akashi around and hid behind his legs when they went to the streetball court to meet with Daiki and Shintarou. Eventually, it offered kisses and happy pants to his closest friends but nothing else.

“Why doesn’t it ever change?” Daiki asked, all brash and uncouth. Manners did not suit him.

“It does,” Seijuro insisted. “You just don’t see it.”

“Then I don’t believe it,” Daiki replied.

“Sometimes omegas only shift when they feel completely at ease in someone’s presence,” Shintarou replied with an air of reproach, though his eyes and expression softened when he glanced down at the puppy currently licking Seijuro’s fingers. “Especially those who have harmed before.”

The omega whined then but didn’t struggle to leave Seijuro’s arms.

That night, after his mother tucked him in and his father came to bid him goodnight, the omega shifted in Seijuro’s bed, taking the appearance of a lovely child about Seijuro’s age with white ears peeking out from a powder blue mop and a white tail poking around the sheets. Seijuro smiled, kissing the omega upon the top of the head, and the omega responded in kind, nestling against Seijuro’s chest and wrapping his tail about Seijuro’s waist.

“Good night, Tetsuya,” Seijuro whispered in the dark.

“Good night, Sei-kun.”

They fell asleep.


	25. KagaKuro: To Protect and To Serve

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroko is the prime minister's college-aged son; Kagami is his bodyguard (about 25/27). Psst. I'd love to write more of this one day.

"You promised you wouldn't do that again," Kagami chastised in that exasperating but pleading voice. 

Kuroko glanced up after a rather long sip of his milkshake. "No one missed me, Kagami-nun. Even the counter staff didn't notice me until I spoke."

If his boss knew, Aida-san would hit him with her clipboard, but Kagami palmed Kuroko's head without a second thought. "Dumbass! I noticed the second you disappeared! And it gave me a heart attack! What if something would have happened to you?"

"Then you'd lose your job, Kagami-kun."

Kagami growled and released the silently laughing Kuroko, but Kagami was anything but good-natured. "I don't care about that! You are the son of the Prime Minister, and people might want to hurt you to get at him! And I can't protect you if you disappear on me."

Kuroko brushed back his tussled hair once Kagami released him and let out that tiny, devious smile that always made Kagami worry — with good reason.

"Did Kagami-kun miss me?"

Sputtering, Kagami felt the heat burning his cheeks red, and he quickly averted his eyes. 

Kuroko's cool hand — it must been the one that had held the milkshake cup — slipped into Kagami's larger one. "I miss Kagami-kun when someone else is protecting me."

Kagami jerked Kuroko closer, then hid their joined hands in his sport coat sleeve as they walked along the busy streets of Shinjuku. "That's because you get your kicks watching me freak out."

"Kagami-kun is quite entertaining."

"Shut up!"

"He could entertain me in other ways tonight if he'd like." 

Kuroko also loved making his cheeks furiously red, the little shit. "You're attending the State Dinner tonight."

"There is something called discretion, Kagami-kun, such as coat closets and maid quarters."

"You want to get me fired, don't you?" 

Kuroko's evil smile returned, and Kagami should have expected to be pulled into a meeting with his superiors the next morning. A newspaper slapped against the desk in front of Kagami, a front-page shot of him and Kuroko kissing on the streets the very day before.

Aida sighed and muttered, obviously uncomfortable with what she had to say, "The Prime Minster says to keep up the good work. At least someone can keep track of his son. Oh, and you should provide the protection."

"Of course, ma’am. That is my job after all."

With another heavy sigh and a "why me?" look, Aida pulled a box from her draw and slid it across the table. "This is what the Prime Minister means, Kagami-kun."

Kagami wanted to die right then and there, the moment he realized he caught the box of condoms.


	26. After the Last Game...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt from Tumblr for Kagakuro

**[throughaguitarsolo](http://throughaguitarsolo.tumblr.com/)** asked:

Hey there! I've just seen that you're taking prompts. And I was wondering if I could ask one for Kagakuro? Like how would be their third year in HS? How they feel about their last Winter Cup? How would be their relationship with Seirin members (formers and new years) and GOM? What are they planning to do the next years? Anything that comes to your mind, 'cause I'm always up for one of you Kagakuro fics.  (*blushes* Thank you!!!)

* * *

 

Taiga returned to America during their second year in high school.

Tetsuya resolved not to let the distance separate them. They emailed, texted, and skyped almost every day. Taiga sent updates about his fall league games, and Tetsuya sent him stories about the Generation of Miracles.

(“Daiki-kun missed the bus and had to run to Seirin. We almost won, but he showed up in the third quarter.”)

Seirin suffered, of course. They battled into the InterHigh Tournament and won their division, but they lost during the championship round to Yosen. Though Tetsuya became the first-string point guard before the Summer Tournament, the team couldn’t beat Shutoku without a strong inside, missing both Taiga and Kiyoshi. The Winter Cup proved to be their best showing of the year; Seirin clawed their way to a respectful fourth place finish.

Though demoralized, Tetsuya endured, thanks to Taiga’s messages, which encouraged, teased, and were constant.

Until they weren’t.

As Taiga’s basketball schedule amped up after Thanksgiving, when the American high school season began, his messages became ill-frequent and erratic. He missed skype conversations or fell asleep during them. And as Tetsuya managed to get up early to accommodate Taiga’s schedule, he at least wanted to see Taiga awake.

As January rolled into February and into March, Tetsuya eventually stopped initializing all their conversations. If Taiga wanted their relationship to continue, then he needed to put in some effort. But he didn’t. Instead, the texts stopped. The Skype remained dark, and Tetsuya chastised himself.

First loves were just that – first. No one really married their high school sweethearts. That was a terrible fairy tale portrayed by rom-coms and manga.

Daiki and Satsuki came over most nights, sometimes Shintarou with Kazunari, other times Ryouta or even Tatsuya. A few weekends, Tetsuya went to see Seijuro in Kyoto, and he wasn’t surprised to see Chihiro visit.

“I thought you’d bring your shadow,” the university freshman admitted starkly in the middle of the current novel debate.

Tetsuya blinked. “I do not have a shadow, Chihiro-san.”

“How did you miss him? Big oaf, has a name that sounds like a big cat, snarls like one, too.”

Anguish tugged Tetsuya down like a strong undertow. “He was my light.”

“Really? Because it seemed like he always was in your shadow. Without you, he would have been nothing.”

Tetsuya hummed in thought, ready to rebuff, but Chihiro waved a hand. “Take the compliment, will you? You placed him on the same level as the Miracles.”

“But Chihiro-san – ”

“He shouldn’t have let you go.”

Tetsuya sighed, eyes skimming but not reading his book. He couldn’t look Chihiro in the eyes. “We-We never broke up. We just…parted.”

“Hm.”

“ _Hm?_ ” Tetsuya’s eyes lifted and glowered. “That’s all you have to say _now?”_

Chihiro shrugged. “You know what happens to shadows without their light?”

“They cease to exist.”

“Exactly.”

Chihiro reverted to their previous conversation about books, and Tetsuya let him. He thought more about their conversation, not sure what to make of it, but forgot about it as the new school year came.

With the third years retiring and not one of the would-be second years having the gift of talent, Tetsuya assumed the role of captain with the knowledge his team wouldn’t be the powerhouse it once was.

As the new teammates lined up, Tetsuya kept Riko’s tradition of making the newbies take off their shirts. He (and Nigou) evaluated them as Riko taught him, stopping in front of a tall player with numbers – abs! – that were off the charts.

Nigou barked. Tetsuya dropped his clipboard.

Taiga scratched the back of his head before smiling sheepishly. “I-It was bad out there. I didn’t see any light, Tetsu. It was so dark.”

“And-And now…?”

“You’re shining.” Taiga smiled, cheeks blooming with a delightful blush. “Will you – Will you take me back?”

“We didn’t break up, Taiga-kun. Perhaps you just faded for a bit, but I’m glad you found your glow again.”

“Of course. I have you.”

Tetsuya jumped. Nigou barked. Taiga shone.

Needless to say, they swept the tournaments that year.

_The End_


End file.
